Hasbro is celebrating the upcoming 30th anniversary of the Transformers brand with new toy lines, including the first Construct-Bots in the Transformers Prime Beast Hunters style, and Transformers Generations toys that celebrate different incarnations of the Transformers brand from throughout its 30-year history.

Other new toys include the first 10 items in the Thrilling 30, a set of 30 limited-edition toys, available at various locations worldwide, that celebrate the 30th anniversary. The first talking Bumblebee toy for Transformers Prime, Transformers Weaponizers Bumblebee, was also debuted. The unveiling of the toy coincided with the first time Bumblebee talked in an episode of Transformers Prime Beasthunters.

At Comic-Con, the Transformers team revealed the winner of the Fan Built Bot poll, which asked fans to help create a new Transformers character. The winner is a black and red female Autobot jet named Windblade.

Hasbro Studios, the Los Angeles-based entertainment division of Hasbro Inc., received a trio of Daytime Emmy Awards in Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for Transformers Prime from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). The wins were also hailed as achievements by The Hub Network, on which the animated series airs.

In addition to its success with Transformer Prime, The Hub Network received 17 Daytime Emmy Award honors, the most ever in its two-and-half year history, with 14 nominations, as announced by NATAS. The Hub Network received the second most nominations of any kids network, behind only Nickelodeon.

For the first time, The Hub Network received three top programming nominations, including two for Outstanding Children’s Series for The Aquabats! Super Show! (FremantleMedia Enterprises and The Magic Store) and R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: The Series (Front Street Pictures in association with The Hatchery, LLC.), as well as one for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program for Dan Vs. (Film Roman Inc., a Starz Media Company, in association with The Hatchery, LLC.).

The Hub Network also received nominations for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program (Dan Vs.), Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program (Curtis Armstrong as Dan in Dan Vs.), Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction/Set Direction/Scenic Design (R.L. Stein’s The Haunting Hour: The Series), Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design and Styling (R.L. Stein’s The Haunting Hour: The Series), Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program (Dan Vs.), Outstanding Directing in a Children’s Series (R.L. Stein’s The Haunting Hour: The Series), Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling (R.L. Stein’s The Haunting Hour: The Series), Outstanding Achievement in Makeup (R.L. Stein’s The Haunting Hour: The Series), Outstanding Original Song—Children and Animation (“If You’re a Guy,” Littlest Pet Shop), Outstanding Achievement in Single Camera Editing (R.L. Stein’s The Haunting Hour: The Series), Outstanding Achievement in Single Camera Photography (R.L. Stein’s The Haunting Hour: The Series), and Outstanding Writing in a Children’s Series (R.L. Stein’s The Haunting Hour: The Series).

Created for kids and based on the animated television show produced by Hasbro Studios seen in more than 170 countries and airing on The Hub television network in the U.S., Transformers Primeallows fans to take on the roles of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Arcee, Autobot Ratchet and Bulkhead as they fight through heroic battles against the Decepticons all around the world. Players will engage in brawler-style combat and diverse driving sequences in order to save Earth from the sinister Megatron and his new secret weapon, Thunderwing.

Transformers Primeis available now for Nintendo‘s Wii system, and the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS hand-held systems, and will be a day-one launch title for Nintendo’s new Wii U system launching on November 18.

You know the Autobots. You know the Decepticons. But now, there’s a new breed of alien robot in town: the Predacons.

Thursday afternoon, hundred of fans sat in a crowded conference room in the Jacob K. Javits Center at New York Comic Con 2012 as Hasbro rolled out the latest line of Transformers toys: The Beast Hunters.

The Beast Hunters will be the touchstone for the Transformers brand next year, driven by Transformers Prime, the animated series produced by Hasbro Studios. The show airs on The Hub television network in the U.S. and is viewed by fans in more than 170 countries around the world. [Read more...]

Hasbro Licensing has entered a digital publishing partnership with Ruckus Media Group to create e-books based on Hasbro brands, including Transformers Prime, My Little Pony, and Chuck and Friends. Each series contains three different levels of reading to challenge young readers.

Consumers can currently download three free titles, one from each brand, at the iTunes App Store. Additional titles will carry an approximate retail price of $3.99 each, or $5.99 for two. Ruckus Media Group will also offer a six-month subscription of $24.99 that gives parents access to the entire Ruckus e-book content library, as well as reading assessment benchmarking and reporting tools for parents.

This post was originally written by Leah Rocketto and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

New Products

Marvel’s Ant-Man is still going strong in theaters, and so is Disney Consumer Products’ (DCP) and Marvel‘s Ant-Man product collection. The lineup includes costumes, construction sets, action figures, and more from licensees such as Hasbro, LEGO, Funko, Hot Wheels, Rubie’s Costume Co., and Uncle Milton.

Skechers USA Inc. has partnered with Jakks Pacific Inc. to launch a new line of dolls based on Skechers’ popular Twinkle Toes character. The initial launch includes four unique dolls that stand 6.5 inches in height, and are dressed in colorful, fashion-forward outfits and light-up Skechers Twinkle Toes shoes.

LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. will release three new preschool toys—the Number Lovin’ Oven and Scout’s Build & Discover Tool Set, which offer pretend play experiences that teach math and measurement, respectively—and the Word Whammer, a phonics game that prepares children for kindergarten in an active way.

Now available from VTech, Flipsies combine traditional role play with collectible dolls and accessories, as well as VTech’s proprietary MagicPoint interactive technology. The line offers a variety of ways to play and has eight introductory themes that encourage girls to be anything they want to be, whether it’s a doctor, a marine biologist, a teacher, [...]

Merchantwise, ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s appointed licensing agency in Australia, has announced strong toy and DVD sales, as well as a host of new licensing and retail partners, for the TV series Thunderbirds Are Go in Australia.